Friday, second to the last day of Car Week, third Tomica in a row (the next entry will not be Tomica) and the theme is an odd color. I didn’t think I had many if any purple models. Then I remembered I don’t just have one, but I have a violet wonder. Today’s featured car is Tomica 86-1, the Toyota Celica LB 2000GT. This casting entered the range in July 1974, and is a great example of Tomica excellence:
Tomica was really hitting its stride in the mid 70s, and this casting shows it. Fine casting detail is everywhere, proportion is excellent, and the “Celica” script cast-in just in front of the rear wheelarch is a feature few makers can handle as well as this one. Scale is claimed to be 1:60, likely accurate, and we can call it 1:64 for Car Week. This model features the crisp glazing, springy suspension, and snappy door action we all associate with and love about old Tomica. From all angles, this is a beauty:
Doors open to reveal a detailed interior and accurate steering wheel:
Front and rear feature similarly high quality detail, with nicely cast lights and badges at both ends:
The base is metal, the standard of the time, and adds heft while containing ample technical detail:
This example is lucky enough to live in its nice original black box:
I am certainly grateful to have this lovely casting in my collection. I have a few examples of the period Tomica Celica notchback (also a high quality item), but this is my only liftback/fastback, and it is a fine model. I should probably work on getting a couple other variants sometime. I believe this casting has been reissued a number of times over the years, but this is the original from back in the day. Just an attractive model in every way:
And some 1:1s from youtube, wikimedia, and bestautophoto.com along with period promo material from toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com, pinterest, and japanclassic.ru . These early Celicas, ignored and neglected for a long time here, are now legitimate collectibles, and are quite sought after, the first few years of the first gen cars especially. The 69-70 Mustang-style detailing of this fastback makes it especially popular today:
